Since its creation in 1984, Dining Services’ Thinking of You (TOY) gift program has become an EWU tradition.The TOY program is available to serve students for the entire academic year, not just for large holidays.

“While [the program] is mainly used to deliver gifts from parents to the students, we still do deliveries for gifts from other students for birthdays or other reasons,” said Jennifer Hopkins, an employee with Dining Services. “Our busiest time is around large holidays like Halloween or Valentine’s day.”

These gifts are delivered for free, with the only cost being the food items themselves. All students or parents need to do is fill out an order form two business days in advance from the delivery date, and the rest is taken care of.

“We have a student who makes the deliveries,” said Hopkins, “In fact, she’s on a delivery as we speak! Valentine’s Day keeps her busy.”

For these large holidays, dining services offers special items in relation to the holiday that can be included in the deliveries.The featured treat for Valentine’s Day was six “Cupid Cupcakes” that were freshly baked and individually decorated by dining services’ expert bakers.

In addition to holiday specials, the TOY program offers year-round packages for various student needs, like finals survival kits and get-well-soon packages.

Each quarter has a featured gift basket as well, like winter quarter’s “South of the Border” package,which included tortilla chips, Fritos bean and cheese dips, salsa and Hot Tamales candy.

TOY gifts are a fun way for parents and friends to surprise students with thoughtful gifts. They can be a welcome treat, especially during high-stress times like midterms and finals. Orders can be placed at the Business Office in Tawanka 120 or by calling 509-359-2540. For more information on the program as well as other gift items available, visit www.edu.edu/TOY.